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Cinco de Mayo in Denver

Get your horses ready to out-flank some Frenchmen in a slippery quagmire (read: drink margaritas). It is time to celebrate the 149th anniversary of Mexico whipping out the whoopass on the French, and telling them to take a hike. This was a momentous occasion in Mexican history (but only observed here in the US, oddly), and we can be certain that the influence from our neighbors to the south wouldn’t be the same if it went down differently (read: no margaritas!). Long before it was called Denver City, our fine capitol marinated in Mexican culture for over 400 years, and now displays a colorful bouquet of flavors and tastes to residents and visitors from around the world. This weekend is no exception, with Denver putting on the largest Cinco de Mayo fest in the nation, spanning two days and attracting close to half a million people.

As we all know, Denver has a great drinking culture, but when it comes to Mexico, I think the country has some of the most fascinating history in terms of alcohol consumption. Such as, the Mayan discovery of chocolate, and how it may have been a mistake when fermenting cacao seeds to make wine? Awesome. When the Spanish arrived, they discovered the natives drinking a milky fermented sap from certain types of agave called pulque. When the conquistadors ran out of brandy? They took the agave and made alcohol like they knew how, in a still, and tequila was born. Living in a city with ties to this history is amazing, and is one of the reasons I love living and drinking in Denver.

So, what are we interested in this week? Celebrating a rich history. Tequila, beer, and wearing sombreros is what we are after. The following list includes places to fiesta.. forever.. all night long:

Remember there will be a TON of people out at Civic Center Park for Cinco in the Park Saturday through Sunday, and roads will be closed near the capitol. I’m sure I missed a few. Feel free to add anything else going on to the comments!

The Cinco del Conk celebration will be making it’s way around the city all week, watch out for the party train! Looking forward to the great suggestions. I have so many good ideas of how to celebrate now.

http://denveroffthewagon.com PJ

That is one train track I don’t want to be on when the train comes a rollin.

Jim Halligan

Agreed.

jlo

We’ll be throwing down some Margs, Mole Yeti’s, Palomas, Dirty Palomas, and Cheladas all night. Tapping a new release – not themed, just cause we can’t wait to try it…..CincoDeDrinko!